THE WAY IT WAS

Closing transient camp for jobless men alarms Ocala leaders

Auto racing was on the agenda at the Marion County fairgrounds in west Ocala when this photo was made in about 1916. The exhibition buildings were used in the mid-1930s to house transients. Later, the fairgrounds was converted into Ocala’s first sports complex.

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By David CookColumnist

Published: Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 25, 2014 at 12:01 p.m.

During much of 1935, the Ocala transient camp located in facilities at the old county fairgrounds on what is now West Silver Springs Boulevard at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue was filled with young men working on a variety of federal projects.

Truckloads of these so-called “transients” left Ocala in the early morning hours to take them to job sites.

A lot of them worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the U.S. Forest Service to create service roads and fire lanes in the Ocala National Forest.

But there were other public projects requiring unskilled labor.

To qualify for the federal camp, the men had to be jobless and in good health.

They received miniscule pay for their labor, but were furnished with a place to stay, meals, clothing and other enticements to stay off city streets and the highways.

For some, it was a life-saver, although many chaffed at the regimentation, and turnover was frequent.

So many destitute men were lured to Florida by wild tales about the state and the fact that jobs might be available.

It is unknown how many thousands poured into Florida, and particularly the Ocala area, because work had started on digging a ship canal.

Hundreds were put to work on the canal project, but it could not begin to absorb the thousands clogging freight trains and the roadways leading into the state.

For Ocala, the transient camp was a tremendous side benefit from an economic standpoint.

Shockwave

Then, in October 1935, word came down from Washington announcing the closure of the camps on Nov. 1.

It sent something of a shockwave through Ocala and other Florida cities that were in no financial condition to cope with the crowds of men.

They lacked facilities and manpower, as well as money to cope with the problems of so many jobless men.

Ocala leaders began scrambling to find some way to keep the local transient camp in operation.

Chamber of Commerce leaders said something must be done at once to keep the camp open.

The chamber immediately began sending frantic telegrams to public officials in Tallahassee and Washington.

Federal authorities will appreciate our situation, he said hopefully, “and lend us their ear and aid.”

The unemployables and indigent

The chamber leaders apparently had ignored President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s declaration that the federal government was getting out of the “direct-relief” business.

He said it was up to the states, cities and welfare organizations to care for the unemployables and indigent.

Work programs like the wide variety of WPA public projects that were bringing many thousands of dollars into Marion County would continue.

The long list of approved projects in Marion, besides the canal, included a new sports complex and an auditorium for Ocala, numerous road paving projects and the creation of a park on Lake Weir, among numerous school improvements.

A sewing program designed to employ women would move into one of the barracks buildings abandoned by the transient camp.

There would be sewing rooms located in other communities — all work programs and not direct relief (in government language).

‘They will not go hungry’

Roosevelt clearly was gearing up for a presidential election by trying to eliminate those weak spots in his New Deal programs where the Republicans might gain some transaction with the voters.

Although a strong supporter of Roosevelt and his policies, Editor Bert Dosh wondered in the Ocala Evening Star what would become of those poor people who couldn’t work, or the employable who couldn’t find work.

He admitted he didn’t have an answer.

“They will not go hungry,” he wrote.

He felt local and state welfare offices would take over their old role of providing assistance to the needy.

Also, Dosh thought the new Social Security system would take up part of the slack.

With what today sounds like massive inconsistency, the venerable Ocala editor said Congress would return to session early in the New Year to deal with the welfare problem.

By looking at the work-relief programs’ successes, Congress would have a basis for approving programs to provide food and shelter for those poor people who have nowhere else to turn.

Abandonment of the direct relief programs (like the transient camps) “is just another step toward the goal the country is striving for — a more abundant life or security for all Americans, whatever their circumstances,” Dosh concluded.

‘Bringing better times’

In another editorial published at Thanksgiving in November 1935, Dosh speculated that even Republicans who criticized every move made by the president to improve the nation’s economy had reason to be thankful “the New Deal is bringing better times.”

He noted that “real expression of thanks” for improving times was coming from some of the major Republican Party leaders.

To rub it in, someone approached former President Herbert Hoover, who was blamed in part for the nation’s devastating economic depression, as to whether he would be a candidate again for the Republican nomination.

Hoover’s answer provided a nationwide news story that he would not be a candidate for the presidential nomination.

An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.

<p>During much of 1935, the Ocala transient camp located in facilities at the old county fairgrounds on what is now West Silver Springs Boulevard at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue was filled with young men working on a variety of federal projects.</p><p>Truckloads of these so-called “transients” left Ocala in the early morning hours to take them to job sites.</p><p>A lot of them worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps and the U.S. Forest Service to create service roads and fire lanes in the Ocala National Forest.</p><p>But there were other public projects requiring unskilled labor.</p><p>To qualify for the federal camp, the men had to be jobless and in good health.</p><p>They received miniscule pay for their labor, but were furnished with a place to stay, meals, clothing and other enticements to stay off city streets and the highways.</p><p>For some, it was a life-saver, although many chaffed at the regimentation, and turnover was frequent.</p><p>So many destitute men were lured to Florida by wild tales about the state and the fact that jobs might be available.</p><p>It is unknown how many thousands poured into Florida, and particularly the Ocala area, because work had started on digging a ship canal.</p><p>Hundreds were put to work on the canal project, but it could not begin to absorb the thousands clogging freight trains and the roadways leading into the state.</p><p>For Ocala, the transient camp was a tremendous side benefit from an economic standpoint.</p><h3>Shockwave</h3>
<p>Then, in October 1935, word came down from Washington announcing the closure of the camps on Nov. 1.</p><p>It sent something of a shockwave through Ocala and other Florida cities that were in no financial condition to cope with the crowds of men.</p><p>They lacked facilities and manpower, as well as money to cope with the problems of so many jobless men.</p><p>Ocala leaders began scrambling to find some way to keep the local transient camp in operation.</p><p>Chamber of Commerce leaders said something must be done at once to keep the camp open.</p><p>The chamber immediately began sending frantic telegrams to public officials in Tallahassee and Washington.</p><p>Chamber secretary Horace Smith pointed out the camp closing “is not solely Ocala's problem.”</p><p>He said assistance must be sought from a variety of sources.</p><p>Somehow, the closing had to be prevented.</p><p>Federal authorities will appreciate our situation, he said hopefully, “and lend us their ear and aid.”</p><h3>The unemployables and indigent</h3>
<p>The chamber leaders apparently had ignored President Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration that the federal government was getting out of the “direct-relief” business.</p><p>He said it was up to the states, cities and welfare organizations to care for the unemployables and indigent.</p><p>Work programs like the wide variety of WPA public projects that were bringing many thousands of dollars into Marion County would continue.</p><p>The long list of approved projects in Marion, besides the canal, included a new sports complex and an auditorium for Ocala, numerous road paving projects and the creation of a park on Lake Weir, among numerous school improvements.</p><p>A sewing program designed to employ women would move into one of the barracks buildings abandoned by the transient camp.</p><p>There would be sewing rooms located in other communities — all work programs and not direct relief (in government language).</p><h3>'They will not go hungry'</h3>
<p>Roosevelt clearly was gearing up for a presidential election by trying to eliminate those weak spots in his New Deal programs where the Republicans might gain some transaction with the voters. </p><p>Although a strong supporter of Roosevelt and his policies, Editor Bert Dosh wondered in the Ocala Evening Star what would become of those poor people who couldn't work, or the employable who couldn't find work.</p><p>He admitted he didn't have an answer.</p><p>“They will not go hungry,” he wrote. </p><p>He felt local and state welfare offices would take over their old role of providing assistance to the needy.</p><p>Also, Dosh thought the new Social Security system would take up part of the slack.</p><p>With what today sounds like massive inconsistency, the venerable Ocala editor said Congress would return to session early in the New Year to deal with the welfare problem.</p><p>By looking at the work-relief programs' successes, Congress would have a basis for approving programs to provide food and shelter for those poor people who have nowhere else to turn.</p><p>Abandonment of the direct relief programs (like the transient camps) “is just another step toward the goal the country is striving for — a more abundant life or security for all Americans, whatever their circumstances,” Dosh concluded.</p><h3>'Bringing better times'</h3>
<p>In another editorial published at Thanksgiving in November 1935, Dosh speculated that even Republicans who criticized every move made by the president to improve the nation's economy had reason to be thankful “the New Deal is bringing better times.”</p><p>He noted that “real expression of thanks” for improving times was coming from some of the major Republican Party leaders.</p><p>To rub it in, someone approached former President Herbert Hoover, who was blamed in part for the nation's devastating economic depression, as to whether he would be a candidate again for the Republican nomination.</p><p>Hoover's answer provided a nationwide news story that he would not be a candidate for the presidential nomination.</p><p><i>An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.</i></p>